Category Archives: Breakfast

Baked Chocolate Donuts with Chocolate Glaze (Williams Sonoma Junior Chef Recipe).

Posted in Breakfast, Donut, Donuts, Kid helpers welcomed, Kids Class Cooking Project, Uncategorized by
IMG_4093

Finished Product

Took a stab at a Williams-Sonoma Chocolate Baked Donut Recipe that I found on a flyer at a store a few months ago.   I have not seen the recipe on-line.

These were very easy to make and taste mighty chocolately.  Only suggested changed is to bake the donuts closer to 12 minutes not 10.  At 10 minutes the donuts really failed the toothpick test but at 12 they were perfectly done.  My batch created 9 donuts and the recipe says 18.    This is the pan I used.  I am not being paid to advertise this and worked very well.  Perhaps the donut mold at WS is smaller and can make 18 vs 9.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FY9IQAC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ingredients

For the Donuts:

  • Nonstick cooking spray  (worked like a charm as the donuts easily inverted)
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
  • Measure 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, then
    sift
  • 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup of buttermilk (3 FL OZ)
  • 1/3 cup of  whole milk (3 FL OZ)
  • 6 tablespoons or 3/4 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup or 4 ounces of white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • For the chocolate glaze:
    • 1/4  cup (2 fl. oz,/60 ml) heavy cream
    • 1/2 cup or 4 oz of semisweet chocolate finely chopped (I just used chocolate chips)
  • Sprinkles – Optional

Steps:

To make the donuts, preheat the oven to 375”F.

Set out your butter to soften.

Coat the wells of a 6-well donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.  (I used a 9-well.)

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder (remember to sift it first), espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a measuring cup, stir together the buttermilk and whole milk. Set aside.   (I used a buttermilk powder to make my buttermilk and had no negative consequences.)

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the
butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stop the
mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with
the buttermilk mixture and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat each addition
until just blended.

Pour 2 Tbs. batter into each prepared well.  (I just filled each well 2/3rds full and that seemed to make perfect sized donuts)

Bake, carefully rotating the pan 180 degrees halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted into the donuts comes out clean, about 10 minutes.    I SUGGEST TURNING AT 6 MINUTES AND REMOVING AT 12 MINUTES.

Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then invert the pan onto the rack and lift off the pan.  (Surprisingly inverting was not difficult and no donuts broke).

Let the donuts cool completely.   (Takes no more than 10 minutes)

Meanwhile, wash and dry the pan and repeat to bake the remaining batter in
2 more batches.   (I did not have any batter after filling my 9 donut well)

To make the glaze, pour the cream into a small saucepan, place over medium heat
and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted.
Transfer to a heatproof bowl.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dip the cooled donuts, top side down,
into the glaze. Place them, glazed side up, on the prepared baking sheet.

Serve right away with the glaze still wet or let stand until the glaze hardens, about 5 minutes, then serve.   If adding sprinkles due immediately after dipping in chocolate.

Makes 18 donuts.  (9 IN MY BOOK)

Adapted from The Junior Chef Cookbook by Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen (Weldon Owen, 2015)

 

 

IMG_4077

Ingredients

IMG_4091

Makes 9 Donuts

IMG_4081

Pre- Glazed

Advertisement

Steel Cut Oats in the Zojirushi Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker

Posted in Breakfast, Easy to make, Steel Cut Oats, Uncategorized by

Ingredients:

3/4 cup steel cut oats

1 1/4 cup water

3/4 cup 2% milk (although I am sure whole milk tastes better)

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

@ 2 tablespoons of raisins

Optional ingredients once oats are cooked:  Brown sugar & cinnamon

Directions:

Place all the ingredients (from raisins and above) in the rice cooker, hit porridge setting and around 40-45 minutes later I had perfect steel cut oats

Top with brown sugar and cinnamon as desired

Apple Muffins from Scratch

Posted in Apple, Breakfast, Kid helpers welcomed, Kids Class Cooking Project, Muffins by

IMG_8813

Easy recipe and kid helper friendly.   Without a kid helper, prep time is 15 minutes.  With a kid helper … 🙂

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Pull out your butter to start softening.  Prep all ingredients until butter is soft prior to creaming it.   This apple muffin is a little more tasty and less healthy than my other apple muffin.  It is a better brunch muffin and presents more upscale.

Makes 12 regular sized muffins.

Muffin Batter:

1/2 Cup White Sugar

1/4 Cup Butter (half of a typical US stick of butter or  4 tablespoons ).   Soften approximately 15-20 minutes.

1 Egg

1 Cup Milk (2% fine)

2 Cups Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon (will need again for topping)

1 Teaspoon Allspice

1 Teaspoon Nutmeg (optional but I used)

1 1/2 Cups Peeled Small Diced/ Chopped Apple

Muffin Topping:  

1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon

 

Directions:

In a large bowl add flour, salt, baking powder and spices for batter.  Stir to mix ingredients.

Mix in another small bowl the two muffin topping and set aside

Cream on a medium speed in mixer with paddle attachment the softened butter and sugar.  Add egg and mix some more.  Add milk and mix on low speed some more.

Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and blend/stir until all is lightly moistened.  It is properly mixed when you do not see much flour but batter is still lumpy.

Add diced apples to batter and blend throughout.

Evenly fill a well-greased muffin tin or use liners.  These muffins do stick some.  I recommend spraying your liners some if you are using with some non-stick spray but is not totally necessary.   In a normal 12 muffin pan the batter will be a little more than half filled prior to cooking.   Sprinkle with a spoon the muffin topping across all muffins.  You may not need all the topping.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  Test after 20 minutes with a toothpick but in most cases 2-3 more minutes gives a more done muffin without any harm.

 

 

 

 

Banana Oat Muffins

Posted in Breakfast, Easy to make, Healthy Kids Snack, Kid helpers welcomed, Muffins by

IMG_5686

Great option for a healthy breakfast or snack, using up ripe bananas.

Prep Time 15 minutes, Cook Time 20 minutes, Ready in 35 minutes

Degree of Difficulty – Easy

Servings 12 muffins

PREHEAT OVEN 400  DEGREES

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed bananas (around 2 medium/large bananas)
1/4 cup almond slivers (optional)
Directions:
  1. In medium bowl combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt
  2. In a large bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla. Add the mashed banana, and combine thoroughly.
  3. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined.
  4. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper bake cups, and divide the batter among them.
  5. Bake 400 degrees F (205C) for 18-20 minutes
  6. Let muffins stay in muffin pan for 5-10 minutes resting on a cooling rack.
  7. Remove muffins from muffin pan  and place on cooling rack.

 

Dry ingredients below

IMG_5676

Wet ingredients below

IMG_5677

Mixed dry, mixed wet below

IMG_5679

Combined wet and dry below

IMG_5680

Baked set of muffins below

IMG_5684

IMG_5687

 

recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.Com

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe-Tools/Print/Recipe.aspx?recipeID=6714&origin=detail&servings=12&metric=false

Savory Cheesy Waffles – Kid Helpers Welcomed

Posted in Breakfast, Cheese, Easy to make, Kid helpers welcomed, Waffles, Yogurt by

IMG_5600

Some times a change up in a waffle is good.  This is a pleasant tasting savory waffle.  The recipe is from C is for Cooking, Recipes from the Street by Susan McQuillan

This recipe goes well with crisp bacon or grilled ham.  A dose of sautéed apples also makes a nice topping.

Makes: 9-11 circle waffles depending (on amount of batter used per waffle) or 12 (4 inch) squares

Preheat your waffle iron now.  It only takes about 5-10 minutes to prepare this batter

Ingredients:

IMG_5588

2 eggs

1 cup low fat milk

1 cup low fat yogurt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar, swiss, or jack cheese (6 oz)

Directions:

  1. Preheat waffle iron
  2. In medium bowl, beat together two eggs
  3. Add to same medium bowl the milk, yogurt, and oil.
  4. In a larger separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt)
  5. Pour the medium bowl into the larger dry ingredient bowl and mix until evenly moistened
  6. Stir in the cheese until it is mixed in.
  7. Pour enough batter over the hot iron (about 1/2 to 2/3rds filled in the center)
  8. Bake the waffles until the beeper or light indicates done (otherwise stop when crisp and brown)
  9. If not using waffles right away, cool on a wire rack so waffles stay crisp.  Can keep warm in low heat oven (250) on a baking sheet
  10. These waffles freeze well for up to two months.

 

Eggs, milk, yogurt, oil

IMG_5590

Add in Dry Ingredients

 IMG_5592

Add in cheese and stir

IMG_5596 

Drop bater on waffle iron

 IMG_5603

Awesome Oatmeal Waffles – Kid Helpers Welcomed

Posted in Breakfast, Easy to make, Kid helpers welcomed, Uncategorized, Waffles by


IMG_5357Today my daughter wanted oatmeal but wanted something creative.  I said how about we look for some oatmeal pancake recipes and she said what about oatmeal waffles.  I never heard of oatmeal waffles but figured with Google an arm’s length away- sure I said.  30 minutes later, I was super excited to have stumbled upon this healthy recipe.  It was a great  switch up from our regular Bittman waffles.  It came from the tasteofhome.com website (I website I had never seen).  The recipe says it will make 6 waffles – our batter produced 7 good sized waffles.  Prep time was about 10 minutes and  I was cleaned up before waffle 3 was out.

6-7 Waffles Servings Prep/Total Time: 30 min including cooking waffles and cleanup

Before you start mixing, plug in your waffle iron and melt your butter in the microwave to get cooled

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour – dry
  • 1 cup quick-cooking oats – dry
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder – dry
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon – dry
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, optional – dry – I would at least use a pinch or full 1/4 – dry
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1-1/2 cups milk
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • Assorted fresh fruit and yogurt of your choice

Directions

  • In large bowl, combine the dry ingredients:  flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
  • In small bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, butter and brown sugar.
  • Add to flour mixture; stir until blended.  (This is a pretty wet waffle batter)
  • Pour batter into a lightly greased waffle iron (amount will vary with size of waffle iron).
  • Close lid quickly; do not open during baking until your waffle iron beeps done.
  • Use fork or knife to remove baked waffle if stuck.
  • If not using right away, cool on a rack and freeze uneaten waffles once cooled.
  • Top with fresh fruit and yogurt.
  • Yield: 6 -7waffles.

Picture of batter; uncooked batter in waffle iron; fully cooked waffle

IMG_5354

IMG_5355

IMG_5356

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/oatmeal-waffles-2/print

Nutritional Facts: One serving equals 1 bread, 2 fats; also, 176 calories, 223 mg sodium, 65 mg cholesterol, 21 gm carbohydrate, 5 gm protein, 8 gm fat.

Quick and Easy Homemade Waffles by Mark Bittman

Posted in Breakfast, Easy to make, Kid helpers welcomed, Kids Class Cooking Project, Uncategorized, Waffles by

This waffle recipe is easy.  You will never want frozen waffles again!

I have never had it fail and I have made it at least 50 times.   I always make one extra set of the dry ingredients which I set aside in a large zip lock bag.  I label the outside of that ziplock well and then inside in a small separate plastic bag I put a note card with the wet ingredients to add.  This way me or my husband can whip up a batch quick.

Effort to make 1 batch – 10 minutes plus time to cook the waffles.  To cook a full batch allocate 30 minutes.    I love my waffle iron which came from William Sonoma.  It does not have any bells and whistles but it does the job well.  The only choice is the doneness setting.  Usually I cook on setting 2 (out of 10).

Before starting the mixing, turn on your waffle iron, and put the butter in the microwave and set aside to cool.

Ingredients:

2 cups of all-purpose flour (dry)

1/2 teaspoon salt (dry)

2 tablespoons of sugar (dry)

3 teaspoons of baking powder (dry) (underlined to make sure you measure this precisely and that you use powder not soda).

1 1/2 cups of milk

2 eggs

4 tablespoons or 1/2 stick of butter melted and cooled – I use the microwave cutting the butter into a few pieces before setting it to 40 seconds.

1 teaspoon of good vanilla extract (worth adding but is labelled optional in Bittman’s recipe)

Preparation:

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

In a smaller bowl mix the eggs into the milk (I usually separately scramble the eggs before mixing with the milk).

Add to the smaller bowl the cooled butter and vanilla if using.

Add the wet smaller bowl to the dry ingredients and stir until mixed well but not obsessively well.

If the mixture is dry add a little more milk but if you measured correctly additional milk should not be necessary.

Spread batter into center of your waffle iron (using a large spoon, poured from a measuring bowl, or using a ladle).

Bake until waffle is done 3-5 minutes – my waffle iron beeps and turns green when done.  There is no guesswork.

Carefully peel waffle off iron and pour in more batter until done.

I like to lay the done waffles on a cooling rack to keep crisp and get air below the waffle.  If I am serving a few minutes later I reheat on a cooling rack laid on top of a cookie sheet.

Once cooled I freeze all leftovers in a freezer bag.  They last well in the freezer for at least 2 months.  I have not tried longer.

I defrost the night before if I remember and  then just place in the toaster in the morning.  Even without defrosting one toast or a preheated toaster at 325 for 5-10 minutes warms the waffle right up.

This recipe is super easy and doubles perfectly.  I almost always make a double batch if I have time and freeze as many as possible.

DO NOT MAKE THE BATTER THE DAY BEFORE THINKING YOU WILL SAVE TIME IN THE MORNING.  Results will be sub-par.  If you need to save time, set aside the combined dry ingredients the night before on your counter and pre-measure the milk and vanilla and leave those two ingredients in the fridge.   Then cut your butter and place in the bowl you will put into the microwave but return the butter back to the fridge as well.   This will save you 5 minutes out the 10-15 minutes it takes to make the whole batter start to finish.

If you have a kid helper, ask them to measure all the dry ingredients and place in the bowl.   Ask them to help stir the wet ingredients as well.

Apple Spice Muffins (Kids Helpers Welcomed) – Very Easy

Posted in Apple, Breakfast, Easy to make, Healthy Kids Snack, Kid helpers welcomed, Uncategorized, Yogurt by

Today I made a batch of these.  The recipe was on the back of StonyField LowFat French Vanilla Yogurt.  I was worried we were not going to finish the yogurt and did not want it to go to waste.  Everyone liked these: Mom, Dad, and especially our 4 year-old.  I had the muffins in the oven in less than 15 minutes and was completely cleaned up before they came out. They looked and tasted great.  I froze the extras and presume they will taste fine in the future but will report back.

Kids can do the sifting, mixing, and scooping into the tins.

Equipment

12 muffin tin regular sized

Sifter tool

Wax or Parchment Paper (if you have it; if not just sift into the dry ingredient large bowl)

Preheat oven to 375, & melt and get your butter cooled before doing anything else!  

Ingredients

2 cups flour (dry)

1/2 cup sugar (dry)

1 1/2 tsp baking soda (dry)

2 tsp cinnamon (dry)

2 eggs

1 cup Stonyfield Low Fat Vanilla Yogurt or some other brand

1/4 Cup butter melted and cooled (This is 4 tablespoons, or half a stick).    I cut the butter into 4 pieces before starting the microwave.  Then I melt the butter in the microwave for about 45 seconds.)

1 apple if large peeled and diced small

Steps:

Preheat oven to 375

Sift the first four dry ingredients after wax or parchment paper and pour into a large bowl

Crack two eggs in a small bowl and scramble (remove any shells if needed)

In medium bowl mix eggs, yogurt, and cooled butter.  I stirred around 20 times quickly.

Pour this wet mixture over your dry mixture, add apples and stir.

Do not panic at first this batter will seem hard to come together and you will think you have too much dry ingredients.  However after a minute or so of stirring I got all the ingredients easily incorporated.

Pour the combined batter into the tins and bake for 20-25 minutes.  In my oven they seemed done at 21 minutes but I pulled them out at 23 minutes.  I let them stay in the tins for about 10-15 minutes and then let them cool on a cooling rack outside the muffin tin pan.  Clearly they can be served pretty soon coming out of the oven if needed right away.

I forgot to take a picture but they had a nice brown color with pieces of apples sticking out !

Breakfast Hits with kids – Banana Pancakes

Posted in Breakfast, Easy to make, Kid helpers welcomed by

Banana Pancakes Below

IMG_5469My very first entry is banana pancakes courtesy of a William Sonoma Kid’s Cookbook.

Everyone in the family loves these, including the adults.  I always 2X the recipe and freeze extras two or three at a time in a freezer sandwich bag so they don’t stick.  If frozen, I suggest defrosting the night before and then warming in the toaster the next day 325 preheated toaster for about 7-10 minutes depending on how solid the pancake still is.  If previously in the fridge for 24 hours I just use the toaster setting on the pancake and that works well or I use the pre-heat method above.

Tip: use a ripe banana, as it will be easy to mash.

Ingredients for one batch (12 small pancakes or 8 large pancakes):

  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter – If you are using a non-stick indoor griddle you will only need 4 tablespoons (half a stick) per one batch of pancakes.  ( i.e. 4 TBSP are meant to be melted and combined in the recipe below; the other two are meant to grease the griddle or frying pan.  With our indoor Breville Smart Grill & Griddle, I found the extra butter is not needed)
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 small, very ripe banana, peeled (if your banana is super large just leave a few slices to top the pancakes)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Maple syrup for serving
  • Sliced bananas for serving – optional

Directions:

For each batch, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter either 40 seconds in a microwave or melt in a small saucepan using low heat over the stove.
Set it aside to cool.  The cooling is an important step so do this before you start pulling out the other ingredients.In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix with a fork until well blended.Put the banana in a medium sized bowl. Mash with a fork until almost smooth. Add the milk, eggs and vanilla and stir with the fork until well blended. Pour the banana mixture and the melted butter into the flour mixture. Mix gently with a rubber spatula or a spoon until the batter is just blended. The batter should still be a little bit lumpy.Put a griddle over medium heat until hot. To test if the griddle is hot enough, flick a drop of water onto it. It is ready if the drop dances quickly and evaporates.  If not using a non-stick pan, put some of the remaining unmelted butter onto the griddle and spread it with a metal spatula. Drop the batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto the griddle, spacing them about 3 inches apart.Cook until a few holes form on top of each pancake and the underside is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully slide the metal spatula under each pancake and turn it over. Cook until the bottom is golden brown and the top is puffed, 1 to 2 minutes more. Using the spatula, transfer the pancakes to a serving plate.Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve the pancakes while still hot with maple syrup and sliced bananas. Makes twelve 4-inch pancakes.  (very accurate output)Adapted from Williams-Sonoma The Kid’s Cookbook, by Abigail Johnson Dodge (Time-Life Books, 2000).
Kid Helper Stirring Batter (Below)
IMG_5461
Getting Ready to Flip First Batch, Bubbles Forming (Below)IMG_5465
Color Seeking Before Flipping (Below)
IMG_5467